Roommates
by strcwberrychuu
Summary: -in which Finley Jane and Emily O'Brien move in together-
1. Chapter 1

"It's not that I don't love living with you guys," Emily says, sitting across the dinning room table from Griffin and Sam, all three still in their pajamas. "It's just that… well, I want to try living on my own. Or with someone else, at least. Somewhere with thicker walls, preferably."  
Griffin blushes and ducks his head down slightly, knowing the small jab is meant directly for him.  
"We're not going to stop you." Sam replies, the only one of the three friends who's a morning person. "And we'll help you find a place and move your stuff, of course."  
"By we, Sam means himself. I can't lift a couch." Griffin says with a laugh, though none of the friends are unfit in any way.  
Sam is the tallest, beefiest man Emily has ever met. He stands around 6'4", and could probably bench press a car if he really tried. And while Griffin has never been as large as Sam, he still stands around 6' tall, with enough muscles to lift Emily easily.  
"You'll have to start paying your own rent if you move out." Griffin says, taking a sip of his coffee, grimacing at how bitter it tastes.  
"It's worth it." Sam says, looking in the direction of a leather jacket that's draped over the back of the couch. None of them own a leather jacket.  
Griffin clears his throat uncomfortably, "The walls aren't that thin."  
"Yeah, they are." Emily says.  
"Maybe you should start paying rent here, then." Griffin grumbles.  
"I'll pay rent when you stop bringing random guys home." Sam says, finishing his coffee and stealing Griffin's mug.  
"At least he's getting some." Emily laughs as Sam glares over the rim of Griffin's mug.  
"That reminds me. Have you gotten a text back from 'tall, dark, and handsome'?" Sam says, turning back towards Griffin.  
"I don't want to talk about it."


	2. Chapter 2

"It's my favorite jacket, Fin!" Jack Dandy, the textbook definition of "Tall, Dark, and Handsome", complains to his best friend.  
"Not my fault you hooked up and left it at their house." Finley Jane, a small girl with the manners of Dr. Jekyll and the brute strength of Mr. Hyde, replies as the two of them sit at a small table in the middle of a local cafe.  
Jack Dandy is infamous for hanging out with the wrong kinds of people, and being the sluttiest man to ever live. Finley Jane's just the type of dangerous to catch his eye - though any form of romantic relationship between the two was short lived in favor of companionship. The final friend in their group is named Jasper, and his last name is none of your business. He's a southern-raised American cowboy, though he gave up the West to move to London. Some might say he's running from a charge of robbery and murder back home, but for now he's standing at the counter of the cafe, ordering drinks and snacks that Dandy will pay for. Dandy and Jasper live together in a small apartment in the bad part of London, where Finley regularly spends the night on the couch. But, according to her taxes, Finley Jane still lives above the bookshop run by her step-father, and sleeps in the room she grew up in. And dear god, does she want out.  
"I'd offer to let you move in with us, but we don't have the room." Jasper says, budging into the conversation with three cups of tea and mini cucumber sandwiches — the friends may not look or act classy, but their tastebuds disagree.  
Finley hums in acknowledgement as she grabs a sandwich. Because it's entirely true. Jasper and Dandy's apartment is two bedrooms and one small bathroom, overflowing with Dandy's hair products, and paid for completely by Dandy - with Jasper taking care of the cable bill.  
"I don't know. I could probably take Jack's room - it's not like he ever sleeps in it." Finley says, wiping her hands on a napkin and reaching for a tea.  
Jasper coughs on his sandwich as he tries to laugh.  
"You're not moving my stuff around." Dandy says, "There's a method to the madness."  
"And the method is 'dig around until you find it'." Jasper says.  
Dandy pauses before moving to change the subject. "My jacket-"  
"Just text him." Finley sighs, shaking her head.  
"But-"  
"Your reputation. We know. We're not saying go on a date with him. Just pick up your jacket." Jasper says.  
"Fin-"  
"No."  
"Jas-"  
"I'm not picking it up."


	3. Chapter 3

It had been three hours after Jack Dandy had snuck out of Griffin King's apartment when he realized that he forgot his jacket. It was two hours after that when Griffin noticed the jacket on the floor next to his bed. It was three hours after that when Dandy texted Griffin, and an hour later when he was outside the apartment door once again.  
"Can I help you?" This man was not Griffin King, in fact he was taller and scarier than most men Dandy had ever met.  
"I'm here for my jacket." Dandy says, trying not to stare at Griffin and a red haired small girl sitting at the dining room table.  
"Ah. Tall, Dark, and Handsome." The girl says, turning away from Griffin, who grimaced when she started talking. "Jacket's on the back of the couch. Sam, let him in."  
Sam, the tall man, moves to the side, and sits back down at the table, this time grabbing the pot of coffee and refilling one of the two mugs in front of him.  
Dandy continues to stand in the doorway.  
"You'll let the AC out, come in. Shut the door." The girl says, and Dandy quickly follows her directions before he notices the leather jacket draped over the back of a couch he and Griffin had defiantly "not" made out on last night. "Coffee?"  
"Ah, no thank you. I just had breakfast with some friends." Dandy says.  
"Oh. Well, feel free to sit and chat, or if you're in a rush, the door's obviously unlocked." The girl said before turning towards Griffin and Sam. "Like I was saying, I found this apartment that has a great workspace, but the cost's too high for me, even taking double commissions."  
"Get a roommate, then." Griffin says, still looking pointedly not at Dandy, who's quietly slipping on his jacket.  
"But roommates are the reason I'm moving, Griffin." The girl says, frowning.  
"No, only one roommate in particular." Sam says, laughing as Griffin blushes.  
"Don't be mean, Sam. We have guests." The girl laughs, causing Griffin to deepen in blush.  
Jack Dandy curses himself quietly in his head, before turning towards the three. "If you're looking for a roommate, I have a friend that's looking for an apartment, too."  
"You do?" Griffin says, as if the idea of Dandy having friends is a foreign concept.  
"Yeah, Finley Jane, she's a bitch, but she'll always be on time for rent, and probably won't get on your nerves too much. She prefers to spend most nights at home reading and sleeping than anything else." Dandy says, pointedly not looking at Griffin.  
"Really? Do you mind maybe giving her my number? You don't have to, but if we're both looking for a new place, what's the worst that could happen?"

Chapter Management


	4. Chapter 4

The worst that could happen, in Griffin's mind, was Emily becoming friends with Dandy's friend. Because while Griffin played the role of rich trust fund law student, he also knew more about the night life than either of his friends - and he knew the reputations of Jack Dandy and his group of friends, of which there were only two. Jasper, an gunman with such incredible aim that he won almost every contest, and Fin, who Griffin had to assume was Finley Jane, a girl who had won more boxing matches and street fights than anyone in the slums of London. If Fin was boxing, your best bet was to put your money on her.  
Now, Griffin knew that Emily could handle herself, she'd grown up the youngest child in a family of five brothers and a father. She was feisty, and knew how to throw a punch, but Griffin wouldn't forgive himself if she fell into the wrong crowd. Except that, when the time came to meet Finley Jane, she surprised every expectation they'd had of her.  
Friends of Jack Dandy had bruised eyes and leather jackets that concealed glimmering knives. Finley Jane, though, wore jeans and a sweater and was talking to the bookstore's robotic assistant as if it were an old friend when Griffin and Emily walked in. The robot itself was small, and obviously old from the rust around the joints, but beeped happily as it dusted the shelves Finley was restocking.  
"Hi, welcome to Jenkyll and Hyde Books, do you need help finding anything?" Finley said, dropping a pile of books back onto the rolling cart next to her.  
"No, I don't think so. My name's Emily, this is Griffin." Emily smiled, holding her hand out.  
"Oh!" Finley says, shaking her hand. "That's slightly embarrassing."  
"Don't worry about it." Griffin says, smiling tightly and looking around the shop.  
"This place is adorable." Emily says.  
"Thank you, my mom and step-father own it. I help out whenever I can." Finley smiles.  
The two girls slowly walk towards the back of the shop, where Finley invites them up for tea, chattering as they go along with Griffin trailing behind them. Maybe Finley Jane's different from Fin the Boxer.


	5. Chapter 5

They aren't. The next time Griffin sees Finley, he's watching a boxing tournament with Sam in the slums of London, and Finley's in the ring with a bloody nose. She's terrifying to watch, fast and strong against any opponent thrown her way. And Jack Dandy's standing at the corner of the ring with a towel for her nose when the round ends. The two talk in hushed voices, and Dandy looks up at them with a smirk before he pats Finley Jane's shoulder and comes towards them.  
"I never took you for a boxing man, King." Dandy says. "It's lucky Fin was you in the crowd, I would've missed you."  
"A shame." Griffin says, watching as Finley swiftly knocks her opponent out in a few swings. "She's very good."  
"The best." Dandy agrees.  
Like this, her nose bloody and bruises dotting her arms, Finley looks the part of Dandy's friend — and also unlike the Finley Griffin had met two days prior.  
"She doesn't box much anymore, only when she and her parents are low on cash because of bills." Dandy said, examining his nail beds as Finley jumped out of the ring. "A shame, really. We could've gone big time."  
"Big time's boring and has too many people trying to pay you to lose." Finley said, arriving at the three men. "I apologize for being very… messy right now, boys. I wouldn't exactly like everyone I know to know."  
"She's embarrassed." Dandy grinned, before looping an arm around Finley's shoulder. "But we must be off — we left collecting win money to Jasper, and he's always a magnet for trouble."  
"I think the magnet might just be you, Dandy." Griffin says, before turning towards Sam.  
Dandy laughs, and leads Finley away as she waves to them cheerfully. Sam is unsure whether to be impressed or concerned.  
"She took down her opponent like it was nothing." Sam says.  
"Yes, she did."  
"But… God, she's so tiny." Sam's eyebrows are furrowed as he connects dots in his head. "And, well, it's like she was playing with them for the first half."  
"If Finley won before halftime, people would get suspicious. And, probably, there's more money in it for her if it seems like she's struggling a little."  
Sam nods, and the two of them slowly make their way towards the door, where Dandy and Finley are waiting — Finley cleaned up and Dandy wearing his leather jacket once more.  
"We sent Jasper to ask Miss Emily. Coffee?"


	6. Chapter 6

This is exactly Griffin's worst nightmare come out to play, he thinks as he follows Finley and Dandy to a small cafe. The merging of the two friend groups was everything he had wanted to avoid. But he was raised to be chivalrous, and couldn't turn down an invitation to coffee or tea without a valid excuse. And Dandy, the bastard, knew it.  
Sam, on the other hand, was fully enjoying himself, as he talked boxing strategy with Finley Jane, who had donned a light grey sweater over her boxing clothes. They were laughing, and Griffin knew that the merging had already happened. Finley Jane and Jack Dandy had wormed their way into his friend group, and Dandy had wormed his way directly into Griffin heart. Bastard.  
Of course, this wasn't a new development. Griffin King had met Jack Dandy in college, where both of them were being forced to go by their fathers, who were the ones paying. And while Dandy had grown to resent the money and politics his father came from — the politics that stopped a bastard born son like Dandy from inheriting any of his father's fortune — Griffin had fallen into the lifestyle like any good true born son would. Not that he had wanted to, but Griffin had always known that his life was chosen for him. But Griffin had always longed for the freedom that Dandy had given himself, and slowly longed to be able to maybe be with Dandy himself, though reasonably he knew their drunken one night stand was as close as he would ever get. But Griffin would never admit those facts to anyone but himself.  
Dandy, on the other hand, viewed Griffin with an air of distaste. Griffin King was everything a teen Dandy wanted to be, pureblooded and groomed into a respectable heir. Current Dandy hated Griffin King with a passion. Or maybe hate was too strong of a word, because Dandy continued to find ways to worm himself into Griffin's life. He claimed that it was to get under the rich boy's skin, but sitting across from Griffin in a small coffee shop, watching as the the rich boy broke into laughter with a smile that lit up the room — well, Dandy realized that the only person he truly ever lied to was himself.


	7. Chapter 7

Finley Jane could tell exactly the moment someone realized they were in love, as long as it wasn't her. And sure enough, Dandy had jumped off the cliff. And maybe she'd notice the way Griffin's eyes lingered on Dandy's lips when he talked if she weren't so concerned over her best friend's feelings.  
Emily was intuitive, and she could read between the lines. Sure, she may prefer machines to people, but that didn't mean she was a brick wall. And Emily had known for two years, four months, and fourteen days that Griffin King was absolutely smitten with Jack Dandy. She'd practically cried with joy when she realized who "tall, dark, and handsome" was. So, sitting next to Griffin King in a small cafe, with a half eaten cucumber sandwich on her plate, she texted Finley Jane.  
"We have to get Dandy and Griffin together."


End file.
